Thousands without power in San Diego

San Diego  A trio of power outages in San Diego left more than 5,200 San Diego Gas & Electric customers without power Sunday evening.

The largest of the outages occurred in the communities of Encanto, Emerald Hills, Valencia Park and Skyline around 8:30 p.m. According to the SDG&E website, 4,335 customers are without power.

San Diego Police Officer Dino Delimitros said power has been lost south of Highway 94 to Skyline Drive, and extends west to 47th Street and east to 62nd street.

Another outage in the area left 300 more customers without power. Both causes are attributed by company officials to a “suspected problem in the overhead electrical system.”

Officials initially said power in the area was expected to be back on by 9:30 p.m. As of 10:40 p.m., estimates indicate power will return no sooner than 2 a.m.

Delimitros said a transformer on Benson Avenue near Terol Court was out and police are working on the Euclid Avenue trolley crossing.

“The bells and lights are working but the arms aren’t going up and down,” Delimitros said.

Earlier in the evening, 588 SDG&E customers lost power around 5:30 p.m. in Hillcrest, Old Town and Mission Hills, company officials said.

That outage began on Eagle Street near West Washington Street in Hillcrest, Delimitros said, adding that the cause was unclear, but it was possible that one or more transformers may have blown. Police left the scene after SDG&E officials ensured the power lines were safe.

On its website, SDG&E says the cause is a “suspected problem in the underground electrical system.” Latest estimates indicate power could be out there until 1 a.m.